DUTA Letter to VC reg. financial recovery: 22.12.2020

Prof. P. C. Joshi

Vice Chancellor (Acting)

University of Delhi,

Delhi – 110007

22.12.2020

Dear Prof Joshi,

As you would be aware, teachers of various colleges/ Departments of the University of Delhi have received letters from the University regarding review of their pay fixation and recovery of ‘excess’ amount paid on one count or the other. The DUTA has repeatedly pointed out to the University that letters of recovery/review in most of these cases are in violation of the Supreme Court judgement dated 18.12.2014 (Annexure 1) which categorically states that such recoveries are ‘impermissible’ owing to the time lapse of more than five years after the payments allegedly in excess to the teachers or the fact that the teachers are retired or are due to retire in less than a year from the date on which notice of excess payment and recovery is first received by them.

What is even more shocking is that most of these cases are related to alleged overpayment made at the time of fixation or implementation of promotion scheme after the Vth Pay Commission, when the fixation/promotion/increments were given to the teachers concerned after following due process and with the approval of the University. Even subsequently, after the VIth Pay Commission, during fixation done after presumably scrutinising all service records, no discrepancy was found by the University administration. To wake up and discover excess payment after the VIIth Pay Commission and demand a recovery now is, apart from being illegal, patently unfair to the teachers concerned who are being penalised for no fault of theirs. All this has been pointed out to the University and College authorities.

However, the University and College administrations have been going ahead with these blatantly illegal recoveries, with the threat of holding up fixation, payment of arrears, release of pension etc unless the teacher agrees to pay back the amount to be recovered. This has caused tremendous hardship to the affected teachers.

The DUTA has repeatedly approached the University authorities in this regard and has been told that, as directed by the DOPT OM dated 02.03.2016 (Annexure 2), duly notified by Delhi University on 27.6.2016 (Annexure 3) and reported to the Executive Council in its meeting held on 28.2.2017 (Annexure 4, page 70 item 22), the employer should forward the case for waiver of the recoverable amount through the UGC and the Ministry of Education to the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. A letter of this nature was sent by the University to the College of Vocational Studies on 2.1.2020 (Annexure 5).

To facilitate the waiver of recovery in the cases covered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment, we would appeal to you to write to the colleges apprising them of the above and directing them to expedite the process. Pending the approval of waiver, no recovery should be made in these cases, as that would be in violation of the explicit order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The amount illegally recovered from teachers in violation of Hon’ble Supreme Court judgment and DOPT OM Dated 2.3.2016 should be refunded to the teachers concerned.

This should not be used as a pretext to hold up the fixation of pay/pension of the teachers concerned, since fixation would be done on the basis of recalculation after adjusting the notional salary to that prior to alleged excess payment.

We would also like to bring to your notice another Office Memorandum in this regard from the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare dated 14.8.2020 (Annexure 6) that should be reported to the EC at its next meeting and sent to the colleges for implementation.

We hope that you would take urgent steps in the matter so that hundreds of teachers plagued by harassment and hardship in this matter get the relief to which they are legally entitled.

 

Warm regards,